Falling Helplessly episode 6

🔥 FALLING
HELPLESSLY 👠

( For his brother’s friend …. 😇 )
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Written by:- Williams Kendall____✍🏽
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🏈 CHAPTER SIX🏈

“Charlotte……Charlotte…? Come on it’s time to wake up, miss.” Who was that? Whoever it was—they were going to have to take a freaking number. My entire body had melted into the lumpy surface below me. My eyelids were tight and heavy, as though they were sealed and weighed down by some unknown force. Not to mention, this guy was standing at the end of a tunnel trying to make me wake up. Nope, not happening sir.

“Is she always this hærd to rouse awake?” I heard the annoying man say.

“Uhm… Yeah honestly, couldn’t tell you,” A deeper voice responded.

“Oh!” Mr. Annoying laughed, “I just assumed as her brother you’d know.” My brother? Ollie was here? Why is Oliver here… Wait. Where is here? The man’s voice became clearer and louder as he spoke, as though he was now walking to my end of the tunnel. It rattled around in my brain, pulling me from my slumber no matter how hærd I clung to the peace.

A harsh white light blinded me as I regained consciousness. I blinked rapidly to clear away the fuzzy film of s₱0ts that were currently blocking my view. As everything around me came into focus, the room I was in flashed into my view. A large window. Industrial blinds. White walls. A plastic pitcher of water on a table. Archer propped up in a chair?

The final image prompted me to open my eyes w¡der. Archer was sitting next to me in a stiff wooden chair. His brown hair was rumpled on top of his head, and a five-o-clock shadow prickled his jaw. He was wearing dark jeans, a white t-shirt, and a red plaid button-down. They were wrinkled and creased as though he had been in them for a while. His eyes—that stared intensely back at me—had dark circles underneath of them. What was Archer doing here?

“Wha…t,” I croaked at him. Archer’s brows snapped together in worry at the sound of my voice. Seriously what was going on? A squeezing pressure dropped my attention to my lap. It was then that I noticed Archer was holding my hand in his. Just as I registered the calloused large hand warming my own, he yanked his back.

“Hello Charlotte, glad you could join us,” Mr. Annoying spoke again. My head spun as I turned to my right to see an elderly man, with grey hair, glasses, and a white lab coat. Oops… Dr. Annoying?

“Do you know where you are Charlotte?” The man continued. I took another glance around. This time, I noticed the heart rate monitor and IV drip next to the bed.

“Hospital?” I wheezed.

“That’s right,” Dr. Annoying said with a smile. “Do you know why you are here?” His face stiffened into a more serious look as he asked. Fear prickled my senses as I tried to remember why I was here. What could have landed me in the hospital with Archer Johnson of all people holding my hand? It had to be bad if Archer was trying to comfort me. The florescent lights and anxious thoughts worked together to make my head throb.

I scanned my body quickly. There were no visible casts or bandages. My body didn’t hurt at all either, it just felt weighed down. My throat was a little sore, but besides that, I couldn’t feel any injuries. Why was I here? Anxiety flooded my stomach as I tried to decipher why I ended up in the hospital. I wh¡pped my head over to Archer to see if he had any answers and he seemed to read the frantic question in my eyes.

“Why can’t she remember? Is that normal?” He asked the doctor.

“Yes, it is quite normal in this case. Charlotte? Your brother brought you into us last night after you had attended a party. When you arrived, your breathing was very laboured so we had to intubate you. You may feel some irritation in your throat for the next couple of days. You also had quite the c-cktail of Ketamines and Rohypnol in your system. It appears as though you were drugged at that party.”

Drugged? At a party? I would have believed him more if he told me I was body-swapped. I was barely the type of girl to go to a party, let alone be careless enough to get drugged. How could this have happened? The gravity of the doctor’s words had bile rising in my throat. Stress tightened around my chest as I wracked my brain for my last memory. I could remember laying on my couch posting to Instagram. Then Emmett texted me? But everything after that was blurry.

“Don’t worry too much about trying to regain your memory right now, Charlotte. I’m quite confident the last 12 hours will come back to you soon. Now there is something more sensitive I need to ask you. Would it be better if we were alone?” My gaze landed back on Archer. He shifted in the seat to stand up and I realized he was about to leave me. Something came over me at that moment. I was scared, alone and lost as to what had happened. I hated being stuck in the unknown, so I grasped onto the only thing I had that was familiar—Archer.

“Please… stay,” I begged as my hand snapped on his forearm. In any other scenario, I would be mortified by my behaviour towards him. But at that moment, I didn’t care. I would rather deal with the repercussions of clinging to Archer than be alone right now.

“It’s okay Charlotte, I’m not going anywhere,” Archer rushed out. “But if you want some privacy, I can just wait out in the hall while you and the doctor talk?” His words made sense. But an anxiety attack bubbled just below the surface of my semi-calm exterior and I couldn’t risk him leaving. What if he decided to really leave me? What if the doctor asked me a question I couldn’t answer? The anxious thoughts whirled around in my brain, causing my grip on Archer’s arm to tighten.

“No! Please stay,” I said, stronger this time. I kept my hand latched to his arm in fear that he wouldn’t listen, but he remained in his seat.

“Alright, then Charlotte. Normally, when we have a patient that is drugged unknowingly we would want to screen for any evidence of s-xual assault.” My nails dug into the tough flesh of Archer’s arm at the doctor’s words. His large hand smothered my own for the second time now and the heat released some tension in my fingers. The football callouses grated against my knuckles as Archer slowly rubbed my hand. I kept my eyes locked on the doctor so I wouldn’t know if Archer noticed the goosebumps that ran down my arm.

“I know this can be scary Charlotte and I am very sorry this happened to you. Now, we haven’t done any testing yet because we had to wait for you to wake up and consent. Your brother said that you were left in a crowded room when the drugging happened, and when he found you your clothes appeared undisturbed. That is not to say that something couldn’t have happened to you—but it is entirely your choice if you would like us to screen for it.”

The overwhelming question threatened to send me further into my anxious spiral. But the rhythmic motion of Archer’s palm scratching the back of my hand focused my mind. There wasn’t any pain anywhere. I was still a V-rgin so I was fairly positive that I would feel it if something had happened.

A tiny voice in,side of me whispered that I really didn’t want to know. I was too weak to handle this, too fragile. Shame washed over me as I realized how pathetic I was. Strong women went through worse than this every day and thrived. Meanwhile, here I was putting my head under the covers because if I can’t see the monsters, they don’t exist.

“I just want to go home,” I said as I shook my head.

“Alright Charlotte, that is your choice. Now you are going to need to be monitored for the next 24 hours. You had expressed that you didn’t want your parents called—which is your right as a legal adult. But if you want to go home, I will have to insist that someone stays with you to make sure you don’t need to come back. Your brother perhaps?”

I frowned at the doctor. Why did he keep mentioning Oliver? Archer’s hand froze on my own and I turned back to him. Did he look… guilty? I recognized the look because it was one I found adorable when we were young. His eyes would w¡den slightly, and he refused to blink, as though doing so would admit fault. Then he’d pull his l-ips together into a small pucker and stay silent while Oliver talked them out of trouble.

“Uhm yeah,” he rumbled lowly as he rubbed the back of his neck, “I can watch her, that’s fine.” Archer was going to stay with me? Not likely… It crossed my mind that he might have just been telling the doctor that. I mean, I had him locked in a vice grip, so he didn’t get to leave until I did. At that moment, all I wanted was a shower and my own bed. If pretending that Archer was going to babysit me got me out of there, then so be it.

“Perfect. Well, Charlotte, you most likely will be feeling groggy for the next few hours at least. You should rest, and drink a lot of water. Grogginess is fine, but if you start to lose consciousness or become disoriented—then you will need to come back. Understand?” Both Archer and I nodded at the doctor’s instructions.

“I also suggest creating a police report, when your memory returns. Now, if there is nothing else? I will be off. A nurse will be in soon to help you get dressed and discharge you.” With that, Dr. Annoying tapped his clipboard on my bed and left the room.

It dawned on me that the doctor had mentioned my brother several times. “Where’s Ollie? Also, why are you the one here with me?” I asked Archer. My voice still sounded as though sandpaper had rubbed it raw.

Archer reached across to the plastic jug of water and poured a cup. He passed it directly to me with a one-word instruction, “Drink.”

I did as he demanded and lifted the plastic cup to my parched l-ips. The cool water coated my mouth before sliding down my throat, leaving a trail of relief in its wake. I turned back to Archer and raised my eyebrows, signalling that he still had questions to answer.

“Uhh.. okay well. I was the one who found you at the party. Well, no… actually you found me. Or us? Okay, either way. I brought you here and you begged me not to tell your parents.” I nodded my head. The last thing I wanted was for my parents to know I was drugged. They would never get another minute of sleep for my four-year degree. Or my life.

“But they just took you away from me and then wouldn’t answer any of my questions. The dumb f-cker at the front desk just kept telling me that I had to be family to see you. I couldn’t not tell your parents if something was really wrong, but I didn’t know for sure… So anyway, I told the doctor I was Oliver so he’d let me come in here.”

I stared wide-eyed at Archer’s admission. Had he been that worried about me? Wait no… He’d been worried about my family. There was a difference. Either way, appreciation flooded my heart at all Archer had done for me last night. I swallowed heavily, trying to find the words to thank him when a nurse sauntered in the room.

“Hello! Sir if you could just wait in the hall, I am going to help get Miss Charlotte dressed and then you can be on your way.” Archer didn’t move immediately and instead faced me with his jaw locked and eyebrows lifted. Even more, gratitude tingled my skin as he clearly waited for my permission to go. The comfort that small action brought was enough to convince me that he wouldn’t leave. Well, that plus I was not about to let Archer Johnson see me unclad. I gave him a weak nod and shuffled up in bed as he walked out.

A few minutes later the nurse had me back in my shorts and the USC shirt I had worn under Emmett’s jersey. I left that in the bag with my wallet and dead phone. My skin itched in the old clothes and I was desperate to get home and shower. With an apologetic smile, the nurse insisted that I be brought out of the hospital in a wheelchair.

When we exited the room I saw Archer a few doors down the hallway talking on his phone. He turned as we approached and I could tell he was annoyed with whoever he was speaking to. His l-ips were drawn into a tight line, and his eyes were dark with frustration. Was it my imagination or did everything on his face soften a bit as his eyes dropped on me?

“Whatever just do it, Rookie. Or I’ll put you on DD duty for the entire year,” He snapped. Then he pocketed his phone and jerked his jaw for us to follow him to his truck.

The drive back to the university was quiet. Archer didn’t attempt to say anything to me and I was too intimidated being alone with him to speak. So, I stared out the passenger-side window and tried to empty my mind of all the questions I still had.

The truck thudded to a stop under me making me lift my gaze. Before me, was a brown three-story home with a patio wrapped around it.

“Where are we?” I asked, finally turning to look at Archer.

His l-ips twisted in confusion as he replied, “Uhhh my house?”

WHAT.

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